Sheffield Sharks

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Sheffield Sharks
LogoSheffieldSharks.png
Founded 1991
Hall English Institute of Sport
(1,200 places)
Homepage http://www.sharksbasketball.co.uk/
Chairman Yuri Matic
Trainer Atiba Lyons
league British Basketball League
2012/13: 7th place
Colours Yellow / navy blue
Jersey colors
Jersey colors
Kit shorts yellowsides.png
Kit shorts.svg
home
Jersey colors
Jersey colors
Kit shorts bluesides.png
Kit shorts.svg
Away
successes
BBL play-offs 2004, 2016; BBL Regular Season 1994/95, 1998/99, 2002/03;
National Cup 1995, 1999, 2000; BBL Cup 2004, 2010, 2011;
BBL Trophy 1998, 2013; National Trophy 1994

The Sheffield Sharks (officially: One Health Sharks Sheffield ) are a professional basketball team from Sheffield , England . The team was founded in 1991 as Sheffield Forgers and replaced the Guildford Kings in the closed professional league British Basketball League (BBL) just three years later after winning the National Trophy . The club was also very successful here and has never missed the play-offs of the eight best teams at the end of the season since they were accepted into the top British league .

history

Sheffield Forgers (1991 to 1994)

In 1991 one registered under the name "Forgers" ( German  forge ) a team to play in the competitions of the "National Basketball League" (NBL). The naming followed the tradition of Sheffield as the center of steel processing in England. In the second division you reached the championship in 1993 and promotion to the NBL Division One in the second year. In the season after promotion you reached the final of the National Trophy, in which you defeated the Plymouth Raiders with two points difference 62:60 and reached the first title win for the club.

Sharks in the time of Chris Finch (1994 to 2004)

In 1994 the Chrysalis Group , which has otherwise made a name for itself in the music industry in particular , became the owner of the Sharks. After rapid sporting success and the financial backing from the new owner, the Guildford Kings license could be taken over in 1994 in the closed professional league BBL , which had been the most successful team in sport since 1987 in the early years of the BBL. In their first season in the BBL, the Sharks, who played their home games in the Sheffield Arena , won the title in the National Cup and immediately took first place after the regular season with only seven defeats in 36 games. With Roger Huggins they also provided the “ Most Valuable Player ” (MVP) of the BBL. The final game of the League Cup BBL Trophy was lost to the Thames Valley Tigers , against whom they had won in the National Cup final. In the semi-finals of the play-offs, however, they lost to defending champion Worthing Bears .

In the following 1995/96 season, the Sharks participated as the first of the regular season in the FIBA Europa League . After a successful qualification against the Luxembourg champions, they were eliminated in the first main round against the renowned Spanish team Real Madrid before reaching the group stage. In the national league you could still win a game more than in the previous season, but took second place in the final table behind the London Towers , against which you as defending champion also lost the final game in the National Cup. After defeating the defending champion Worthing Bears in the first round of the play-offs, they were eliminated again in the semi-finals, this time against the eventual title winners Birmingham Bullets . For the following season, the native American Chris Finch became player-coach of the Sharks, who had played for the Sharks since 1992. The final game in the National Cup was lost against the London Towers and the semi-finals of the play-offs were also lost for the third-placed Sharks against this opponent, who then took the title in the final. The Towers were also the opponent in the final game of the BBL Trophy 1998 in the following season, in which the Sharks won their first title with the 82:79 final victory under Chris Finch as coach and with John Amaechi the most prominent British player in their ranks at the time had. In the play-offs, however, the fourth-placed Sharks were eliminated in the first round against the Thames Valley Tigers. Chris Finch was then only active as a coach for the Sharks and ended his playing career.

In the 1999 National Cup, the Sharks won the final game 67:65 against the Greater London Leopards and took first place with MVP Terrell Myers after the regular season of the BBL. In the semi-finals of the play-offs they lost again to the London Towers, which were able to secure another title in the final. In the following season, the Sharks were able to defend their title in the National Cup after winning the final against the Manchester Giants . This not only beat the Sharks in the BBL Trophy, but also took first place in the newly established "Northern Conference " of the BBL before the Sharks. In the first round of the play-offs they lost to the Birmingham Bullets and ended the season early. In the 2000/01 season, the Sharks achieved first place in the Northern Conference with the second best season record of all BBL teams with Fabulous Flournoy , who then made the Newcastle Eagles the leading “ franchise ” of the BBL. Then you reached the play-off final game, which was lost to the Leicester Riders , who had previously turned off the South London Towers. The Chrysalis Group sold the franchise, however, and the Sharks appeared to run out of money before taking over from Montgomery Leisure Services Ltd. were taken over. In the 2001/02 season they finished second in the Northern Conference behind the Chester Jets , who dominated the action in the BBL this season and won all titles in the end. The Sharks lost in their second play-off final match against the Jets with 82:93.

In the 2002/03 season, the Sharks retired early in the cup competitions of the BBL, but in the unified BBL, which again renounced the conferences, they took first place after the regular season. In the semi-finals of the play-offs they lost just two points against the eventual title winner Scottish Rocks . Then left Chris Finch the club, which he had heard as a player and coach since 1992, eleven years and went for a short time as a coach in the German basketball league to the casting 46ers before moving to Belgium as a club coach and later coach of the British national team many British National players gathered around them. In the following 2003/04 season one had initially continued sporting success when one in the BBL Cup, which had replaced the National Cup and was now a pure league cup, defeated the Scottish Rocks in the final and achieved the first title in this newly named competition . In the league they finished second after the regular season and reached the final, which they won for the first time in the club's history with an 86:74 over the Chester Jets. This was followed by a six-year untitled period in the BBL.

Dry spell and new successes in the Cup and in the Trophy (since 2004)

After the Sharks were eliminated early in the cup competitions of the 2004/05 season, they reached the play-offs of the BBL as fourth-placed team. After a convincing quarter-final success they lost the semifinals against the Newcastle Eagles, who then won their first play-off title and rose to the new power in the BBL. Nate Reinking then left the Sharks after six years and followed Chris Finch to Belgium, who also brought Roger Huggins to Euphony Bree . As third place in the 2005/06 season they lost the play-off semi-finals against Scottish Rocks. In the 2006/07 season they moved to the English Institute of Sport as their new home ground and improved to second place in the final table. With Jeff Bonds can also put the co-MVP of the BBL, who joined after the season to Spain. The play-off semi-finals were lost this time to defending champions Newcastle Eagles and were able to celebrate a conciliatory end to the season with a win against the Guildford Heat in the small final for third place in the duel between the two best teams of the regular season.

In the 2007/08 season, the previously accustomed Sharks were eliminated in sixth place in the first play-off round. In the following season, the bottom line was the same, with the Sharks showing a negative season balance for the first time in their club's history. The Sharks were able to answer this "low point" by winning the BBL Cup and their first title win in six years. In the championship, after just six defeats in 36 games, they had the second-best record of all BBL teams behind defending champions Newcastle Eagles and put Mike Cook as the MVP of the league, but in the semi-finals of the play-offs they were eliminated by Glasgow Rocks. In 2011 the title in the BBL Cup was defended when the Mersey Tigers were clearly defeated 93:66 in the final, who otherwise won the remaining titles of the BBL, including the final of the two best teams of the regular season in the play-offs, where the Tigers were able to defeat the Sharks in a final victory for the defeat in the BBL Cup.

In the 2011/12 season, the now almost 38-year-old Nate Reinking returned to the Sharks in order to prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games with the British national team in the last season of his playing career . In seventh place, however, at the end of the season they had a negative season record for the second time, with more defeats than games won. Logically, they were eliminated in the first play-off round. In the 2012/13 season you won the BBL Trophy in the final with two points difference against the Leicester Riders, who otherwise won all titles of the BBL. In the final table of the championship they finished seventh again, but with a positive season balance. However, this did not protect the Sharks from being eliminated again in the first play-off round against defending champions Newcastle Eagles.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ England Basketball: Senior Men - Cup Competitions - National Trophy. (No longer available online.) England Basketball . Archived from the original on April 2, 2013 ; accessed on June 7, 2013 (English, overview of final results). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.englandbasketball.co.uk
  2. ↑ 1994–95 BBL Championship & Playoffs. British Basketball League , accessed June 7, 2013 (English, season overview).
  3. ^ European League 1995-96. Linguasport.com, accessed June 7, 2013 (English / Spanish, overview of the results of the competition).